1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lighting apparatus, and particularly to a lighting apparatus which uses as a light source a xenon lamp, which is capable of preventing noise from occurring in various types of electronic equipment owing to the high-frequency waves generated from ballasts and other devices, which is made compact so as to be easily installed in various kinds of ships, and which is capable of rapidly returning to its original positions with respect to lighting direction, a lighting angle and other lighting positions.
2. (Description of Related Art)
Xenon lamps which generate light similar to sunlight are suitable for lighting at night and are thus generally used as lighting apparatuses for various kinds of outdoor work at night, for example, for illumination on the sea surface from a ship and various other work related to fishing.
A ballast and a high-tension pulse generator (starter) are required for starting discharge lamps such as xenon lamps (light source). Such a ballast and starter are respectively installed at positions separate from the lamp in view of the effect of heat generated from the lamp, the capacity and other structural problems, the ballast and starter being connected to the lamp through cables.
In fishing boats and various other ships, a steering house is generally selected as the location where a ballast and so on are installed. In the steering house radio equipment, facsimile equipment and other nautical equipment are located, all of which are required for ship navigation. Various electronic equipment such as fish finders are further located on fishing boats. The ballast, the starter and the cables for a xenon lamp, which are all located in the steering house, generate high-frequency waves which cause the occurrence of noise in the above-described various types of electronic equipment. A critical problem therefore occurs concerning navigation in some cases. Further, as fishing boats and small ships have a small steering house, it is often difficult to locate the ballast, the starter and other equipment in the steering house, and equipment such as wiring and the drawing of cables is complicated.
An illuminating xenon lamp has therefore been proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-276802 in which a ballast and a starter are received in the cylindrical body of a lamp so that the whole of the body is formed as a compact unit.
On the other hand, in a lighting apparatus which uses as a light source a xenon lamp and which is installed in a ship, the setting of the lighting direction, setting of the elevation angle and adjustment of the focal distance are performed by the remote operation using a controller. Such a controlling operation enables lighting in any direction, regardless of the direction of navigation, and enables convergent lighting in a distant place and scattered lighting in the immediate area.
However, as described above, conventional xenon lighting lamps which are installed in various kinds of ships have a ballast and other devices which are located in the steering house and have an effect of generating noise in various electronic instruments and thus cause troubles in ship navigation.
The integrated xenon lighting lamp disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-286802 is proposed for removing the disadvantages of conventional xenon lighting lamps with respect to their operation which are caused by the large size thereof and the provision of outside ballast. However, no consideration is given to a reduction in noise produced in the various kinds of electronic instruments, which are required for ship navigation, and to the use of the lamps on the sea. Namely, the noise cannot be completely removed, even by such a conventional integrated lamp, and the cylindrical form of the lamp body, which enables spontaneous cooling of the ballast and the starter received therein, makes the lamp intolerable the particular severe environment of use on the sea, which requires salt resistance and water resistance.
In addition, when the illumination direction is controlled and set by the remote operation using the controller, if the illumination direction differs from the navigation direction, after the controlling operation, it is necessary for returning to the original position along the navigation direction to precisely recognize the present position and control the illumination direction corresponding to the present position. Such a controlling operation thus takes much time.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting apparatus which has been created in consideration of the aforementioned situation, which has a compact overall structure having a ballast and a starter, which are received in a lamp casing for receiving various lamps such as a xenon lamp serving as a light source so that the apparatus can be easily installed in various kinds of ships, which is capable of preventing noise form occurring in various kinds of electronic instrument owing to the high-frequency waves generated from the ballast and other devices, and which exhibits speeded-up return of any illumination positions from the original positions after the illumination direction, the illumination angle and other illumination positions have been adjusted and set.
In order to achieve the above object, a lighting apparatus of the present invention comprises a lamp which is started and lighted by a ballast and a starter, and takes illumination positions which are controlled by remote operation, the ballast and the starter being received in a lamp casing in which the lamp is disposed.
The lighting apparatus comprises a lamp which takes illumination positions operated by the remote operation using an operating device having reset means which is provided therein for the purpose of returning the lamp, which has been adjusted to be in a given turning position and a given elevation position, to the original turning and elevation positions.
In the lighting apparatus of the present invention, the lamp casing containing the lamp is installed at the bridge or another predetermined position of a ship, while the operating section of the operating device is installed in a remote operation place such as the steering house.
The operating device brings the apparatus into a ready condition and lights the lamp such as a xenon lamp. The lamp is smoothly started by the ballast and the starter which are received in the lamp casing. Hence various kinds of electronic instrument which are located in the steering house, which is the remote operation place, are not affected by the high-frequency waves generated by the ballast and the starter.
When a turning switch in the operating section is operated, a turning motor is driven so that the lamp is clockwisely or counterclockwisely turned.
When an elevation switch in the operating section is operated, an elevation motor is driven so that the lamp is turned upward and downward in the vertical direction.
In addition, when an origin return switch in the reset means is turned on, the turning motor and the elevation motor are respectively driven toward the original positions in the direction from the set turning stop position to the original turning position, and in the direction from the set elevation stop position to the original elevation position. When the original turning position and the elevation original position are detected, the turning motor and the elevation motor are stopped so that the lamp is returned to the original position and stopped at the original position and is made ready for a next operation.